May 4, 2017

Bruins sweep major awards; have 11 chosen as All-NSAA, 4 as Gold Glovers

Derik Bontempo, Ben McKendall, Colten Barnes, and Duane Monlux were all honored as major awards winners in the NSAA end of season awards program

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The North Star Athletic Association Regular-Season Champion Bellevue University baseball team swept all four major awards in the NSAA's end of season awards program. The Bruins landed a conference-best seven players on the All-NSAA First Team and four more on the All-NSAA Second Team. Additionally, a league-high four Bruins earned mention on the NSAA Gold Glove Team.

Senior Derik Bontempo was named the NSAA Player of the Year, senior Ben McKendall was tabbed as the NSAA Pitcher of the Year, junior Colten Barnes was honored as the NSAA Newcomer of the Year, and head coach Duane Monlux earned distinction as the NSAA Coach of the Year.

The seven players selected as First Team All-NSAA included six seniors with catcher Jake Browne (West Richland, Wash.), second baseman Miles Campbell (New Cumberland, Pa.), outfielder Derik Bontempo (Federal Way, Wash.), outfielder Joe Moran (Scottsbluff, Neb.), pitcher Ben McKendall (Los Angeles, Calif.), and pitcher Todd Nicks (Bakersfield, Calif.) as well as junior pitcher Colten Barnes (University Place, Wash.).

Second Team All-NSAA selections were senior first baseman Todd Nicks (Bakersfield, Calif.) and a trio of juniors in third baseman Matt Evans (Omaha, Neb.), shortstop Diego Iribarren (Barquisimeto, Venezuela), and pitcher Zach Wilson (Denton, Texas).

BU players that were named to the Gold Glove Team were catcher Jake Browne (West Richland, Wash.), third baseman Matt Evans (Omaha, Neb.), right fielder Joe Moran (Scottsbluff, Neb.), and pitcher Ben McKendall (Los Angeles, Calif.).

Junior pitchers Max Dwyer (Vancouver, Wash.) and Reid Feeley (Tehachapi, Calif.) were both named as honorable mention selections.

Bellevue (47-7, 23-1 NSAA) begins their post-season journey tomorrow at 1 p.m. against Presentation College in the first round of the 2017 NSAA Baseball Tournament.

Below is the entire list of All-Conference and Gold Glove Winners:

2017 North Star Athletic Association Baseball All-Conference First Team

Pos.	Name	School	Year	Hometown
C	Jake Browne	Bellevue	Senior	West Richland, Wash.
C	Quinn Irey	Jamestown	Junior	Bismarck, N.D.
1B	Brady Nygaard	Mayville State	Sophomore	Mayville, N.D.
2B	Miles Campbell	Bellevue	Senior	New Cumberland, Pa.
2B	Drake Yoshioka	Mayville State	Senior	Waipahu, Hawaii
3B	Sagan Osborne	Dickinson State	Senior	Anchorage, Alaska
SS	Jared Meiklejohn	Valley City State	Senior	LaMoure, N.D.
IF	Brady Anderson	Valley City State	Senior	Jamestown, N.D.
DH	Jose Guzman	Mayville State	Senior	Hollister, Calif.
OF	Derik Bontempo	Bellevue	Senior	Federal Way, Wash.
OF	Jacob Cuch	Dickinson State	Junior	Aridrie, Alberta
OF	Dondrei Hubbard	Mayville State	Junior	Houston, Texas
OF	Joe Moran	Bellevue	Senior	Scottsbluff, Neb.
SP	Ben McKendall	Bellevue	Senior	Los Angeles, Calif.
SP	Jerome Byndloss	Jamestown	Junior	Las Vegas, Nev.
SP	Todd Nicks	Bellevue	Senior	Bakersfield, Calif.
SP	Colten Barnes	Bellevue	Junior	University Place, Wash.
RP	Eric Evans	Jamestown	Senior	Weyburn, Sask.

2017 North Star Athletic Association Baseball All-Conference Second Team

Pos.	Name	School	Year	Hometown
C	Riley MacDonald	Waldorf	Junior	North Vancouver, B.C.
C	Ben Bruenjes	Valley City State	Senior	West Fargo, N.D.
1B	Todd Nicks	Bellevue	Senior	Bakersfield, Calif.
2B	Peter Pennylegion	Jamestown	Junior	Ferndale, Wash.
3B	Matt Evans	Bellevue	Junior	Omaha, Neb.
SS	Diego Iribarren	Bellevue	Junior	Barquisimeto, Venezuela
IF	Landon Uetz	Jamestown	Senior	West Fargo, N.D.
DH	Garrett Jewell	Winnipeg	Junior	Cambridge, Ont.
OF	Taichi Sasaki	Jamestown	Junior	Sakai, Osaka, Japan
OF	Micquel Robinson	Dickinson State	Junior	Las Vegas, Nev.
OF	Ethan Bell	Viterbo	Senior	Jacksonville, Fla.
OF	Anthony Necochea	Valley City State	Senior	Hemet, Calif.
SP	Kody Rock	Mayville State	Senior	Canora, Sask.
SP	Zach Mahoney	Mayville State	Senior	Fargo, N.D.
SP	Andrew Frank	Valley City State	Junior	Romoland, Calif.
SP	Zach Wilson	Bellevue	Junior	Denton, Texas
RP	Jacob Torgerson	Mayville State	Senior	Morris, Minn.

NSAA Baseball Postseason Awards

Player of the Year: Derik Bontempo – Bellevue (Neb.)
Pitcher of the Year: Ben McKendall – Bellevue (Neb.)
Newcomer of the Year: Colten Barnes – Bellevue (Neb.)
Coach of the Year: Duane Monlux – Bellevue (Neb.)

2017 North Star Athletic Association Baseball Gold Glove Team

Pos.	Name	School	Year	Hometown
C	Jake Browne	Bellevue	Senior	West Richland, Wash.
1B	Tyler Ludlow	Jamestown	Junior	Port Orchard, Wash.
2B	Peter Pennylegion	Jamestown	Junior	Ferndale, Wash.
3B	Matt Evans	Bellevue	Junior	Omaha, Neb.
SS	Jared Meiklejohn	Valley City State	Senior	LaMoure, N.D.
LF	Kory Wolden	Jamestown	Junior	West Fargo, N.D.
CF	Anthony Necochea	Valley City State	Senior	Hemet, Calif.
RF	Joe Moran	Bellevue	Senior	Scottsbluff, Neb.
P	Ben McKendall	Bellevue	Senior	Los Angeles, Calif.

Senior